Backpacks for Kids

Michael, I fully agree with you on the comfort comments. My struggle has been trying to outfit a 7 year old girl that only weighs 42 lbs herself. I started with what seemed reasonable, a REI Passage pack, which is an extremely well built pack, and plenty comfortable and I liked the idea that it can grow with her and my son. But with that, a NF Tigger, a Zlite small, 1L of water, a few clothing and personal items and the pack was up to 10-11 lbs, that was just too heavy for her. It was plenty comfortable, but after 1/2 mile she'd complain about the weight.

So this year my plan is to use the Jam2, still a plenty comfortable pack for light loads, the Tigger, a NeoAir and limit the personal stuff she brings and carry some of it and her water myself. I need to bust out the scale, but pretty sure I'll have her pack down to around 6 lbs, which will be a major improvement.

Small circuit with adjustable shoulder strap panel. 34 oz. Adjusts torso from ~13-18". Not shown on website, but call and ask them.

My 12yo, 14" torso, 125 lbs , carrying 17-23 lb pack 12miles per day.

Not sure I agree with kids packs being any different from adults. KEEP IT LIGHT and the comfort takes care of itself. My son let all the wt ride on his hipbelt sometimes, you can see there is NONE on his shoulders in this pic, I could slide a finger under the strap. Just the way HE prefers it for some reason.

He carries ALL his own gear, water , food, and half tent with me. THe only thing he doesnt have to carry is stove and pot, because we only bring one and I carry that. Our packs essentially weigh the same.

My kids liked carrying all their own gear as soon as they were around 10 years old. With a light pack (XS womens), they were able to stay within 15% of their body weight – as long as I carried the shared gear and food. When they were about 12 years old, they could also carry their food and stay within 15% of their body weight.
We learned 3 lessons:
1. ”adjustable” packs that also for adults are too tall – they pull the kids off balance and are very fatiguing.
2. ”kids” packs are too heavy for a 10-15% weight budget.
3. 9-12 year olds ”need” a womens short sized sleeping bag to stay warm, and to fit their gear into a small pack. The ”youth” bags are cheap, but too heavy.

Otherwise, backpacking for 9 year old or older kids is the same as for adults.